School: Kilbonane, Lios an Phúca (Beaufort) (roll number 5482)
- Location:
- Kilbonane, Co. Kerry
- Teacher: Dll. Ó Clúmháin
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0458, Page 194
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- A Leprechaun is supposed to be about one foot high. He wears a red cap and a green coat. He lives in a fort, and his occupation is shoe-making. He makes and repairs shoes for the fairies. He is supposed to have a large pot of gold, which he keeps buried underground in the fort. When a person catches a Leprechaun he must keep looking at him. If he looks away the Leprechaun will disappear. When caught, a Leprechaun tries in every way he can to make a person who caught him look away. Once, a man was coming home from town late at night. When passing a fort he heard a sound as if someone were mending shoes. He went into the fort, and he saw a Leprechaun working away on a shoe. He began to steal towards him, but just then the Leprechaun saw him. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and threw it towards the man. The man stooped to pick it up, and when he looked again the Leprechaun had disappeared. A Leprechaun punishes those who interfere with him or his fort. Once a man cut a tree in a fort, and his cows gave no milk for the remainder of the year.
A mermaid is supposed to half a woman and half a fish. She has the body of a woman(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Tomás Ó Murchadha
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Ballymalis, Co. Kerry
- Informant
- James Murphy
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 52
- Address
- Ballymalis, Co. Kerry
